Two police officers were shot this week in Chicago: “It’s a miracle the officers are still alive”

While investigating a gang related shooting on Tuesday, two Chicago Police tactical officers were shot and injured, making it the first incident this year where police were shot at.

The two officers were in an unmarked tactical van while investigating a prior gang related shooting when bullets began flying near 43rd and Ashland. One officer was hit in both the hip and arm while the other took a bullet to the back, according to the Chicago Sun Times.

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The La Raza street gang is suspected to be behind the attack, but it is unclear whether they were tipped off about the police investigation or if the shooting was random. Officials say at least one of the guns used in the attack was a .223 caliber rifle, most likely an assault weapon, according to the Sun Times.

After the shots were fired, one officer radioed saying “my partner’s been shot” as he called for help. Upon arriving at the scene, officers blocked off cross streets between the incident and Stroger Hospital where the ambulance took the two wounded men to be treated.

Outside the hospital police Supt. Eddie Johnson swore the shooters would be captured and a manhunt began in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, according to the Sun Times.

Both injured officers have now been released from the hospital as the investigation continues. Police have questioned three “persons of interest” and have located a vehicle believed to have been used in the shooting. They have also recovered two weapons they believe were used in the shooting.

The attack occurred on the Almighty Saints gang territory and police suspect it was carried out by rival gang members in La Raza.

“It’s a miracle the officers are still alive,” Anthony Guglielmi, chief spokesman for the police department, told the Sun Times.